Bus Tour Christmas Express to Lapland 01/02/2016-01/09/2016 without overnight stays
Christmas express bus tour to Lapland 01/02/2016-01/09/2016 without night crossings from Kyiv. Vilnius - Tallinn –Helsinki-Oulu – Tallinn – Riga-Vilnius. The representative of the company is the guide Anastasia.
Lapland is really a fairy tale! Finland is a wonderful country! And even everything described below could not spoil our fabulous communication with Santa and enjoy the trip! I have a stable mind. I have no complaints about the tour operator, having learned about our trip, they called me back and apologized for the guide (they themselves were unpleasantly surprised).
The bus was unmarked when it was served, there was no Christmas Express number 1 sign, people tried for a long time to understand from our group, they should get on.
Technical stops. Throughout the trip, requests to the guide Anastasia to announce technical stops, at least 10 minutes earlier, and did not stop and leave “you have half an hour”, were not heard. There are not only adults on the bus, but also children who are sleeping and undressed, they need to be woken up and fully dressed, it takes a lot of time. She didn’t learn the route, didn’t look where there are large gas stations and recreation areas, so along the way we stopped at technical stops many times where there was only one toilet for everyone (or one for women and one for men), and there were 45 people in the group.
Food. Arriving in Finland, Anastasia did not study where you can eat fast and varied, with hot food. Seeing the first available place, the guide stopped the bus and sent people. Therefore, most of the tourists were left half-starved, and some finished eating the food they had packed in a snack bar already on the bus. When dining in hotels, if we arrived on time, we learned from waiters or at the reception that children have a 50% discount on dinner in the evening, and by filling out a questionnaire, tourists have a 20% discount. It was also difficult to say that the hotel has a sauna and everyone can go there.
Vilnius was told that the boarding of the bus at 9:25, left half an hour later (she did not calculate the time correctly, the bus stopped). Stealing 30 minutes from people. Some, including us, went for a walk along the main street in the morning and had to do everything in a hurry, others could sleep.
Tallinn - our group did not arrive on time for the walking tour, we immediately went to check into the hotel, and the representative of the company, the guide Anastasia, announced to the tourists that everyone who wanted to visit the tour they meet downstairs, they are waiting for everyone and go on an excursion together (please note that it was already Tallinn at night!!! ). When the child and I went down to the meeting point, the guide and part of our group had already left, Anastasia announced - catch up (in a night and unfamiliar city with a child). We walked by ourselves! There was no free time at the Christmas market, because The fair had already closed, leaving only a few pavilions open. The liquor tasting was made the next day on the bus, pouring the liquor into plastic glasses, the guide thought that this was enough. But one could show a little imagination and make it beautiful either at breakfast the next day, or on the ferry, inviting everyone to the upper deck, etc.
There was no sightseeing tour of Rovaniemi.
We arrived at Santa Claus Village not at 12:00, but at 13:00. The guide and drivers didn't know the way and we drove forward 30 km and then came back!! ! Although the tourists said that we passed the turn. The representative of the company - the guide Anastasia did not even apologize, but only said, well, there are adventures. This is not an adventure, she stole an hour of fairy tale time from my child!!! ! We stood in line to Santa, although it was promised that we would have a clear time, without a queue. Leaving Santa and not walking around the village, but only time was left for the photo, we went on an excursion to Santa Park. Moreover, Anastasia told us all the time that there was nothing to do there for more than 2 hours, but maybe she there is nothing (and this person takes people to a fairy tale, not believing in it himself and does not even want to pretend that he believes), but the children have something to do there. I knew perfectly well how much the entrance to Santa Park costs, and that it is not far from Santa's village, but I bought a tour from Anastasia, because I have a child with me and I wanted as much time as possible for the child to stay in the fabulous Santopark. But when she arrived at the park, it turned out that the guide Anastasia did not buy entrance tickets (although she had time to buy tickets, she spent it on taking pictures herself and taking pictures of her mother in Santa's villages, who traveled with our group, and she suggested, and not in the best way, how her daughter should behave with tourists, which I consider unacceptable, because the person is at work!! ! of the bus, go along the beautiful illuminated road (there is only one) to the entrance, come in, and at the entrance, I will meet you. these 15 minutes are so important. We didn't make it to the appointed time, the guide Anastasia called and said that I had 2 minutes and the bus was leaving (again without hearing what I say we will be in 5 minutes). Thank you for saying the guide of the second group to pick us up (the second group left at 18:00! ! And he gave people and more time to walk around Santa village later). On the bus with tourists, it was said that we should be taught a lesson! ! I think that this is not permissible, for my money paid for the tour, for my time spent because of her, pardon the stupidity, also such statements.
Yes, we got our Arctic Circle Crossing Diploma not in the Arctic Circle, but again like liquor on the bus! ! Many tourists did not understand where the Arctic Circle was, they had to show their photos to people, then only people realized that they had crossed it.
Oulu. Since I was not sure if we would go to the Ranua Zoo, if my child would like it and what the weather would be like, I did not buy this excursion in advance. The representative of the company, the guide Anastasia, initially told me that we and 3 other tourists who did not want to visit the zoo, that we eat together with everyone and we will have free time there. But since we and 3 other tourists became punished, the guide Anastasia announced to us that we were staying in Oulu. For which, we were incredibly grateful to her, because the temperature on the streets was -27. But the rest of the 39 tourists were shocked, the whole bus is following us and people spend an hour (one and a half) more time on the bus, and not on excursions or come to the hotel earlier. To the requests of tourists that Anastasia would not “punish” everyone, the answer was “no”.
Riga. Upon arrival in Riga, the representative of the company - guide Anastasia offered to take tourists to the fish market first, and then to a walking tour, the tourists agreed. And then Anastasia again, she messed up something with the road and we drove the bus around Riga for an hour. Realizing that no one really needs the market, except for the guide Anastasia, the tourists suggested that they still go on an excursion, and then, who wants to go to the market, on their own. Arriving at the start of the tour, everyone wanted to go to the toilet, because. There was no stop from Tallinn, for the meeting guide, it turned out to be unexpected and she showed that she knew that the dry closet was on the street, where one cabin worked, the rest froze from the cold. In this cold, I had to stand in line and take the children there, the tourists found Anastasia with difficulty and forced them to accompany the tour, and not go with their mother to the fish market.
I had a convincing request to the management of the company: the guide Anastasia should not work in the tourism business. And the management of the Company heard me, after the trip they called me back, apologized, it turned out that there was a force majeure and this young lady was taken on the recommendations, she no longer works for them. For them, it was also a very unpleasant surprise.
All the guests were very cool: interior, breakfasts and location (everything is in the city center, even late in the evening it was possible to walk along the central streets to feel the city). VILNIUS: Europe City hotel TALLINN: PK ILMARINE 4* - OULU : SCANDIC OULU 4* - KUOPIO: RANTASIPI ATLAS 4*